A military judge rejected an attempt by lawyers representing the suspected ring leader in the Abu Ghraib prison scandel to delay the trial or have the charges against their client dismissed. The attorneys claimed that Specialist Charles Graner could not receive a fair trial because of comments made by President Bush and other top government officials that would make a fair military trial impossible.

Graner is expected to face more than 20 years in prison for his role in the prison abuse scandel which saw detainees physically and sexually abused and tortured and was captured on video tape and in photographs by the soldiers committing the acts.

Graner is one of seven soldiers from the 372 Military Police Company to be charged in the scandel. No high ranking officers or government officials have been charged or dismissed as a result of the scandel despite the fact that much of what was done was within guidelines set down by the Bush Administration for the treatment of detainees in Abu Ghraib.

The court ruled that members of the Bush Administration, including the president and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld went out of their way to make sure that a presumption of innocence was preserved in the Abu Ghraib scandel.

Graner's attorney says that his client has been made a scapegoat for the failures of a system that reached to the very top eschelon of the military and the Bush Administration.

Graner is reportedly the father of the child recently born to Private Lynndie England who is due to stand trial in January at Fort Bragg. The charges against Graner have yet to be announced.